Machine for treating shoes



Oct. 21, 941. A. L. JALBERT 2,259,566

MACHINE FOR TREATING SHOES Filed June 17, 1939 2 Sheets-Shept l Oct. 21, 1941. JALBERT MACHINE FOR TREATING SHOES Filed June 17,1939 2 Sheets-Shee t 2 vf/NVENTU/i a m y --uppers against the ironing means. :trated,-the ironing means consists of a pair of heated upper ironing members having their work Patented Oct. 21, 1941 MACHINE FOR TREATING SHOES.

Adrien L. Jalbert, Haverhill, Mass, assignor to United Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application June 17, 1939, Serial 22 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for treating shoe uppers to improve their appearance and particularly to machines for treating parts of the uppers adjacent to the foot openings including, when they are present, the tongues and eyelet flies.

, When shoes have been substantially completed, it isoften found that the uppers are wrinkled and thetop edges of the linings are exposed and that the eyelet flies are widely separated from each other so that the shoes present an unattractive appearance.

It is an object of this invention to provide a machine foroperating upon shoes in this condition to give them a presentable appearance by smoothing and shaping the tongues and parts of the uppers adjacent the foot openings, and by pressing the eyelet flies toward each other into the position they .assume when laced. To this end, and in accordance with one feature of the invention, the illustrated machine is provided :with tongue shaping means arranged to press the tongue portion of a shoe and give it a transverse curvature that approximates the transverse cur- ,vature of the instep portion of the shoe, and an expansible shoe form for pressing the tongue and the tongue shaping means against one another.

In the illustrated embodiment of this invention,

the tongue shaping means comprises flexible metal plates arranged to receive the tongue por- :tion of a shoe between them. These plates are disposed between upper ironing members and the expansible shoe form so that upon the expansion of the latter the plates are squeezed between the form and the ironing members; the ironing members acting as abutments in that they support the plates against outward pressure from the .form. As disclosed, the plates are provided with 'heating means for increasing the effectiveness of .its" ironing and shaping action upon the tongue "which is pressed against it.

Viewing this invention from another aspect and havinginmind the difficulties encountered when carrying out upper shaping operations upon shoes of various sizes and styles in machines using rigid "forms, there is provided, in accordance with another feature of this invention, a machine having" ironing the upper portion of a means arranged for engagement with shoe around its foot opening'and an inflatable shoe form for pressing the As illusengagingfaces shaped for engagement with the eyelet flies and the rearwardly extending portion '55 form and of the uppers adjacent the foot receiving openings. The ironing members, when used in combination with the aforementioned tongue engaging plate, overlie theplate and support it against outward pressurefrom the shoe'form.

,These and other features of the invention will appear more fully from the following detailed description when-readin connectionwith the accompanying drawings and. will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, a I Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying thepresent'invention; Fig. 2 is a front. levation of a portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view taken along line ILL-III of Fig. -1 looking in the-direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a view taken along line IV-IV 0 Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows and illustrating the construction of the inflatable shoe form and the tongue pressing members; and

Fig. 5 is a View taken along line V-V of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows.

The illustrated machine comprises a frame ll] (Fig. 1) adapted to bemounted on a base or table 12 and secured thereto by the usual fastening means, such as bolts or the like, the frame consisting of a base portion l4 having a forwardly extending gooseneck I6 which terminates in a head [8, and a downwardly extending arm 20 upon which is mounted an inflatable shoe form 22 (Fig. 4). The inflatable shoe form 22, which will hereinafter be referred to as the form, is supported by a flat plate 24 (Fig. 4) which underlies th'e bottom of the form and is connected to the arm 20 by a rectangular stud 26 that extends through a complementally shaped airtight passage 28 in the form 22. The form 22, which may be made of rubber or like material, is shaped to agree with the front and sides of the top portion of a last and is of approximately half the height of a last. (Fig. 3) so that it can fit readily into shoes of different sizes. When the form 22 is-infiated, downward expansion is restricted by the underlyingplate 24', and upward expansion of the unconfined portion of the form which lies in the foot receiving opening of a shoe is restricted by a horizontally extending arm 36 (Figs. 1 and 4) of a bracket 32 which is connected to the arm 20 by a screw 34. The horizontally extending bracket arm 36 projects beyond the rear end of the form 22 (Fig. 1) sothat it will overlie the heel portion of a shoe when it is placed upon the thus will also act as a gage and assist tongue receiving portions of the plates 38 and 48 are urged apart by a spring 44 sleeved on a stud 46 which passes loosely through the upper ends of the plates into engagement with the arm 28, the spring 44 normally holding the :lower portions of the plates 38 and 48 apart-so .thatthe tongue portion of a shoe may readily be inserted between them as the shoe is being placed on the form-22.

While the tongue engaging plates 38 and'48 will give a transverse curvature which approxi mates the shape of the instep portion of a shoe, they are flexible enough so that they maybe bent as they are squeezed together to iron the tongue. This enables the application of uniform pressure throughout the whole of the tongue regardless of the relative thicknesses of various portions thereof. 'Theability of the tongue plates 38 and 48 to conform to work of varying thicknesses is import-ant because thejleather used for shoe tongues is of very poor quality and is not at all uniform in thickness.

Located on either side of the 'form 22 are upper shaping or ironing members '58, '52 (Fig. 2) which have their work contacting surfaces shaped for engagement with the eyelet flies and the upper of a shoe on the shoe form 22. In the illustrated embodiment of this invention the ironing members '58, 52 extend rearwardly from the eyelet flies along the shoe upper to a point about opposite to the forward edge of the counter (Fig. 1) however, they may be extended to the back seam if desired. It is to be noted'that when the ironing members 58, 52 are in engagement with the upper of a shoe on the form 22 (Fig. 3) they overlie the somewhat flexible thin tongue engaging plates 38 and 48 and support them against outward pressure exerted by the form 22.

The ironing members 58, 52 are moved into and out of engagement with the upper of a shoe on the form 22 by crossed levers 54, 56 which are pivoted on the head I8 directly above the form.

As the connections between the levers 54, 56 and the upper ironing members '58, 52 are similar, only one of these connections will be described and like numerals will be given to corresponding conir'oning members carried by them. 'The upper ironing member 58 is connected to the lever 54 by a heavy spring 68 and a rod 58 which is slidably mou-nted'in the end of the lever 54. The rod 58 is mounted in alined openings in spaced bosses 62,

84 formed on the end of the lever '54 and is urged in a downward direction by a light spring 68 which is sleeved on the rod '58 between the boss 84- amzlia shoulder 8-8 on the rod 58. The heavy spring 88, fastened at its ends to'the rod 58 and theironing member -58,'forms a universal con- "necticn between them which permits the ironing member to tilt, thereby to adjust itself to the shoe on the form-22 as the form is being inflated,

Upward movement of the ironing memnecting parts between both of the levers and the of a shoulder 78 On the lower end of the rod 58 with the boss 82. When the ironing member 58 is seated against a shoe on the form 22, twisting strains are set up through the spring 88 which tend to rotate the rod 58, and, if the rod were permitted to rotate under these strains, the position of the ironing member would be changed when the ironing member was moved away from the shoe at the completion of ashaping operation. This undesired rotation of the rod 58 in the bosses 82, 84 is prevented by a forked plate I2 which is clamped to the upper end of the rod 58 between nuts i4, i8, and has its forked end seated over the upper end of the lever 54 (Fig. 2).

The upper ends of the levers 54, 58 are connected to a lug '88 on a vertical slide 82 by short links 84, 88 which, when the slide is in its lower position (Fig. 2), form an expanded toggle joint that holds the levers 54, 5B and the ironing members 58, 52 mounted on those levers away from the form 22. The slide 82 is mounted in ways formed in the head I8 and is moved upwardly to collapse the toggle joint and move the ironing members 58, 52 against a shoe on the form 22 by a rearwardly extending lever 18 (Fig. 1) which in turn is operated by a treadle 90 through a treadle rod 82. The lever I8 is pivoted on the gooseneck i 8 by an interconnecting link 88 and is connected at its forward end (Fig. 1) to the slide 82 by a link 3! At its rearward end the lever 18 is connected to the treadle rod 92 by a pivotally attached sleeve 98, (Figs. 1 and 5) which is slidably mounted on the rod 92 between a collar 88 fast to the rod and a spring I88 sleeved on the rod and confined by nuts 182 threaded on the end of the rod. As a result of the construction just described, when the treadle 98 is moved downwardly, force will be transmitted to the lever 18 through the spring I88 causing the lever 78 to raise the slide 82 and move the ironing members into engagement with the upper of a shoe on the form 22. The spring I88 is adjusted so that it will yield after the ironing members 58, 52 are pressed lightly against the shoe on the form 22.

Inflation of the form 22 is accomplished through 'a pump I86 which is mounted on the floor and is connected to a nipple I81 on the inflatable form 22 by a flexible hose I88 through a coupling containing a suitable relief valve H8. The relief valve H8 is controlled by an arm II6 which, when in its upper position (Fig. 1), holds the valve open and permits air to escape from the form 22 and in its lower position closes the valve. Underlying the valve arm H8 is a finger H8 on a block I28 fast to the treadle rod 92, the arrangement being such that the valve arm ,I I6 is held in its upper position by the finger II8 when the treadle is raised (Fig. 1) and upon depression of the treadle the valve arm IIB follows the finger I I8 downwardly under the urging of a spring I22 closing the valve II8. The pump I88 is operated by the treadle 88 through a link I.I2 which is connected at one end to the treadle '98 and at the other end to the stem II3 'of the pump'piston II 4. Thus, upon depression of the treadle 88 the ironing members 58, 52 are moved inwardly into engagement with the upper of a. shoe on the form 22 and the piston I I4 is moved downwardly in the pump cylinder inflating the form 22. It is desired to have the ironing members 58, 52 engage the shoe upper before'the form 22 is'infiated and this is effected by adjusting the finger II8 on the treadle rod 92 so that the relief valve I I closes at about the time the ironing members contact the shoe on the form.

"The treadle 90 moves through a slot in a guide I28 and is normally held against the upper end I30 of the slot by a heavy spring 94 which is connected at one end to the table I2 and atits other end to the treadle 96. After the treadle 90 has been moved downward suificiently to operate the machine in a desired manner it is moved laterally so as to bring a treadle tooth I24 thereon into engagement with one of the teeth I26iormed in the side of the slot in the guide I28 and is thus held depressed for such time as the operator wishes to subject the shoe to the action of the machine.

The ironing members 56, 52 and the upper tongue engaging plate 38 are heated by resistance units I32, I34 and I36 (Fig. 3), respectively, to increase the effectiveness of their smoothing and shaping action. The resistance units I32, I34, I36 are connected to a source of power by leads (Fig. 1) which extend through a conduit I38 to a junction box I40 mounted on the table I2. "The operation of the machine is as follows: After a shoe S has been placed on the form 22 with-its tongue portion T between the plates 38, '46 and its heel portion against the rear of the form 22 and the projecting portion of the horiaontal bracketarm 36, the treadle 90 is depressed to move the heated ironing members 50, 52 lightly into engagement with the upper of the shoe S and to inflate the form 22 so that the latter will press the tongue and upper against the heated plate 38 and the ironing members B, 5 2. Due to the arrangement of the finger H8, the relief valve III! is held open during the first portion of' the downward movement of the treadle 90 and, as the ironing members are brought into engagement with the shoe S the valve is closed and further downward movement of the treadle causes the inflation of the form 22. If the treadle 9!! should be depressed too far so as to 'cause the over inflation of the form 22 the light springs 66 would yield until the shoulders II! on "the spindles 58 engaged the bosses 62 thereby permitting the ironing members to move back vvardly that amount. If the form 22 should be further inflated by a repeated pumping action of the treadle 90 in the lower portion of its downward path of movement, the spring I00 would then yield permitting the ironing members 50,

52 to move back further under the additional pressure exerted by the form 22. It will be unplates 38, 40 against the tongue and topress the uppers lightly but firmly against the ironing members 50, 52 and that the smoothing and shaping function is due primarily to the action of the heated ironing surfaces on the plate 38 and the ironing members 56, 52 upon the work surfaces pressed against them by the form 22. When the form has been inflated to a desired extent the treadle 90 is moved laterally into holding engagement with one of the teeth I26 on the guide I23 where it is held for such time as is necessary to carry out the ironing and shaping operation upon the shoe S. At the completion of this operation, the treadle is released and is moved upwardly by the spring 94, this movement of the treadle opening the valve H0 and moving the ironing members 50, 52 back away from the form 22 so that the shoe may be removed from the machine.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for treating shoe parts, a shaping member arranged for engagement with a surface of the tongue portion of a shoe, and an expansible form for pressing the tongue portion against the shaping member.

2. In a machine for treating shoe parts, a heated metal plate arranged for engagement with the tongue portion of a shoe, and an expansible shoe form for pressing the tongue portion against the heated metal plate.

3. In a machine for treating shoe parts, a heated metal plate arranged for engagement with'the tongue portion of a shoe, an exp-ansible shoe form for pressing the tongue against the heated metal plate, and means for supporting the plate against the pressure from the expansible shoe form.

4. In a machine for treating shoes, a plate arranged for insertion between the tongue portion of a shoe and the eyelet flies, an expansible shoe form for pressing the tongue against the plate, and means for engaging the eyelet flies and supporting them and the underlying plate against outward pressure from the expansible shoe form.

5. In a machine for treating shoes, an expansible shoe form, a metal plate arranged for insertion between the tongue portion of a shoe on the form and the eyelet flies of that shoe, upper engaging members constructed and arrangedfor engagement with the upper from the eyelet flies to the counter, said members supporting the upper and plate against the outward pressure of the expansible shoe form, and means for heating the upper engaging members.

I 6. In a machine for shaping shoe parts, coacting transversely curved thin flexible metal plates between which the tongue of a shoe may be positioned, adjacent ends of said plates being secured to said machine, means for separating the other ends of said plates to facilitate the insertion of the work, and means for squeezing said plates together to smooth the tongue, said means comprising an abutment coasting with one of said plates and having approximately the curvature of the related plate.

7. In a machine for pressing shoe tongues, coacting flexible metal plates having approximately the transverse curvature of the instep portion of a shoe, means for heating one of said plates, means for separating said plates to permit the interpositioning of a shoe tongue, means 'for pressing said plates against the tongue comwith the other plate, and means for causing relative movement between the presser member and the abutment to iron the tongue.

,8. In a machine for treating shoes, an expansible shoe form, a heated metal plate arranged for insertion between the tongue portion of a shoe on the shoe form and eyelet flies of that shoe, heated upper engaging members mounted for tilting movement, and means for yieldingly holding said heated upper engaging members against the outer surface of the instep portion of a shoe on the shoe form to support the heated metal plate against outward pressure from the expansible shoe form and to remove the wrinkles from that portion of the shoe.

9. A machine for treating shoe parts comprising an expansible shoe form, means for expanding said shoe form, heated ironing members adapted for engagement with the upper of a shoe on the expansible shoe form, and yieldable supporting means for the heated ironing members arranged to hold said members against the upper of a shoe on the shoe form and to regulate the pressure exerted on the uppers by the ironing members and the expansible shoe form. V

10. A machine for treating shoe parts comprising an inflatable shoe form, a metal plate arranged for insertion between the tongue portion of a shoe on the inflatable shoe form and the eyelet flies of that shoe, and heated ironing members arranged for engagement with the eyelet flies overlying the metal plate to support the instep portion of the shoe against outward pressure from the inflatable shoe form.

11. A machine for treating shoe parts comprising an inflatable shoe form, a heated metal plate arranged for insertion between the tongue portion of a shoeon the shoe form and the eyelet flies of that shoe, ironing members constructed and arranged for engagement with the eyelet flies overlying the metal plate, and means for moving the ironing members into engagement with the eyelet flies, said means comprising carriers for the ironing members arranged for movement toward and away from the inflatableform and spring means for connecting the ironing members to the carriers.

12. In a machine for treating shoe parts, an inflatable shoe form, ironing members arranged for engagement with the upper of a shoe on the inflatable form, and means for moving said ironing members: into engagement with a shoe upper on the form and for inflating the form to press the upper'against the ironing members;

13. A machine as defined in claim 12 having a metal plate arranged for insertion between the tongue portion of a shoeon the form and eyelet flies of that shoe, and means for heating the metal plate and. the ironing members.

4. A machine for treating shoe parts comprising a support, an inflatable shoe form mounted on the support, metal plates arranged for en- 'gagement with the opposite surfaces of the tongue portion of a shoe on the shoe" form, upper ironing members shaped for engagement with the eyelet flies of the shoe on a shoe form, resilient means .for supporting the upper ironing members, and means for first moving the upper ironing members into engagement with the-uppers and then inflating the form to force the uppers outwardly against the upper ironing members.

15. In a machine for treating shoe parts, an inflatable shoeform, means for inflating the shoe form comprising a pump and a valve, ironing members arranged for engagement with the upper of a shoe on the shoe form, and operating mechanism arranged tomove the ironing members into engagement with the upper of a shoe on the shoe form and to actuate the valve to cause the inflation of the shoe form after the ironing members have been moved into engagement with the shoe upper.

. 16; In a machine for shaping shoe uppers a support, an inflatable shoe form mounted on said support, shoe upper smoothing and shaping mean-s arranged to engage the upper of a shoe on the support about part of the foot opening, and means arranged to prevent the displacement of the unconfined portion of the shoe form in the foot opening when the form is inflated while inserted in a shoe. 7 i 7 17. In a machine for shaping shoes, an inflatable shoe form, a support for said inflatableshoe form, a plate mounted on said support and arranged to prevent the displacement of the bottom portion of the shoe form, and a member on said support arranged to overlie and prevent the displacement of the unconfined portion of the shoe form lying within the foot opening of a shoe on the shoe form, said member being arranged for engagement with the rear portion of a shoe on the shoe form to assist in locating it on the shoe. form.

1-8. A machine for smoothing and shaping shoe uppers comprising a plurality of shaping members arranged for engagement with shoe uppers, means for moving the shaping members into and outof engagement with the upper of a shoe in the machine, and an inflatable inner form for pressing the uppers outwardly against the shaping members. I

. 19. A machine as defined in claim 18 in which means are provided for heating the shaping members;

20. A machine for smoothing and shaping shoe uppers comprising an inflatable shoe form,- a pair of metal shaping plates arranged for engagement with the quarter of the upper of a shoe on the shoe form, means for heating the shaping plates, and means for moving the shaping plates into and out of engagement with the upper of a shoe on the inflatable shoe form.

21. A machine 'for smoothing and shaping shoe uppers comprising an inflatable shoe form, a pair of metal plates having their work-engaging surfaces shaped for engagement with the quarter of a shoe on said shoe form, displaceable members for moving the metal plates into and out of engagement with a shoe upper, and universally movable means for connecting the displaceable members with the metal plates.

22. A machine for smoothing and shaping shoe uppers comprising an inflatable shoe form, a pair of metal plates having their work-engaging surfaces shaped for engagement with the quarter of a shoe on said shoe form, means for heating the metal plates, displaceable members for moving the metal plates into and out of engagement with a shoe upper, spring connections between the-displaceable members and the metal plates, and means for inflating said shoe form to press an upper against the metal plates.

ADRIEN L. JALBERT. 

